Jackson brothers Tito (third from left) and Marlon (third from right) are among the international stars who have appeared on La Voix. They sang with Season 5 finalists Rebecca Noelle (from left), Ludovick Bourgeois, David Marino and Frank Williams.Olivier Samson Arcand / COSMOS

Montreal crooner David Marino was just 18 when he found himself in the finals of TVA’s blockbuster vocal competition show La Voix last season.

The Rivière-des-Prairies native — who enjoys singing 20th-century jazz standards and idolizes Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé — began singing at the age of seven, when he started working with vocal coaches.

But nothing prepared him for the scare of his life last May.

“Two days before the live La Voix finals, I got laryngitis and completely lost my voice,” Marino said. “I couldn’t even talk. It freaked me out. The day of the show, it didn’t get better — I was unable to sing during rehearsals. So the producers rushed me to the otorhinolaryngology department at the CHUM, where a fantastic doctor gave me medication, and it worked magic.

“It turned out OK. The adrenalin of the crowd helped lift me up. It was like magic — my voice just came out that night.”

David Marino overcame a frightening setback on the day of La Voix’s Season 5 finals. “The adrenalin of the crowd helped lift me up.”OSA Images /
TVA

In the end, Ludovick Bourgeois, son of the late Les BB singer Patrick Bourgeois, was crowned the winner in Season 5 of La Voix. But, Marino said, “I am super proud of what I accomplished.”

Marino is one of many anglophone and allophone performers who have received career boosts by competing on La Voix, which launches its sixth season on Sunday, Feb. 11. Adapted from The Voice of Holland, La Voix — like its star-studded American cousin The Voice on NBC — has become a cultural force in Quebec. Last season’s finale pulled in an audience of 2.3 million viewers, with a 61.6 per cent market share.

“The Voice is a huge success all over the planet, but none are as big a home-ratings phenomenon as La Voix is in the Quebec market,” La Voix associate producer Stéphane Laporte told the Montreal Gazette. “Our TV ratings are huge — La Voix is like airing a Super Bowl each week.”

So much so that La Voix draws superstar guest performers like original American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson and CeeLo Green, a former coach on NBC’s The Voice.

Previous coaches on La Voix include Quebec icon Jean-Pierre Ferland and pop star Marie-Mai, who launched her own career as a finalist on another vocal competition show, Star Académie.

La Voix’s coaches this year — Garou, Lara Fabian, Éric Lapointe and Alex Nevsky — are also well known. And just as they did with Michel Pagliaro last season, La Voix’s team hired Nanette Workman, another bilingual rock legend, to be a mentor for Season 6. (The new season’s coaches and mentors weren’t available to comment for this story.)

“Garou called her up to see if she would be a mentor for his team, and she agreed,” said Laporte. “If anyone deserves to be called The Voice, it is Nanette. She is a musical monument.”

“The hardest thing in this business is to get your big break, and that is what La Voix offers, just like the Ed Sullivan Show launched many musical careers,” said Laporte. “Our show can help boost the careers of aspiring singers. Record companies also watch our show to spot new talent.”

Season 5 quarter-finalist Hanorah scored a record deal after the label president saw footage of her performing on La Voix.OSA Images /
TVA

Such as Dare to Care Records, which announced last month that they had signed Season 5 quarter-finalist Hanorah to a record deal.

“My La Voix guest mentors Les Sœurs Boulay showed (footage from La Voix) of me to Eli Bissonnette, the head of the label,” said the 23-year-old soul singer. “My past experience as an artist turned me into the singer that I am, but the show put me in front of the right people.”

La Voix also propelled the career of Season 3 finalist Matt Holubowski, who will open for Ben Folds in Europe in May and June. Holubowski will also perform at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee in June, and is now on tour in Quebec and Ontario.

Shortly after the release of his 2016 album Solitudes — whose title was inspired by Hugh MacLennan’s novel Two Solitudes — Holubowski spoke to the Montreal Gazette about his time on La Voix. “The language thing didn’t help or hinder,” he said. “But it was something I felt, being immersed in this whole francophone context as somebody who identified culturally more on the anglophone side.”

Holubowski continued: “Anglophone Quebecers have a preconceived notion that, ‘Oh, francophone music, it doesn’t interest us.’ Until recently, maybe it didn’t have the same musical appeal. But guys like Louis-Jean Cormier and Jean Leloup, the lyrics are French but the sound is American and British.”

La Voix was also an eye-opener for Hanorah, especially in the blind audition phase when the coaches have their backs facing the performers; if they like what they hear, they swivel around.

“I walked into this as a biracial anglophone going onto a French TV show with a primarily white audience,” she said. “I went into it thinking, ‘OK, if this works, it could be really cool.’ I wasn’t expecting much. But the audience made a huge difference during my blind audition. Suddenly it became real. Especially when all four coaches’ chairs turned. I was like, ‘Oh, crap! What did I get myself into?’

“But I have nothing but positive things to say, honestly. My experience was very much that of making friends and getting support from the public. I was very pleasantly surprised with the support and love.”

Laporte believes La Voix “has bridged the two solitudes. Francophone viewers are discovering anglophone performers, and anglophone performers are discovering francophone culture, because on our show the artists must also sing French songs.”

Jazz artist and vocal professor Ranee Lee advises singers to “think about the big picture â what you really want to do with your career” before entering the audition process for a show like La Voix.Michael Slobodian

Laporte says around 5,000 singers audition for La Voix each season, with 48 making the cut. While some contestants have been singing professionally long before they step onto La Voix’s stage, jazz legend Ranee Lee — a vocal professor at McGill’s Schulich School of Music — underscores the importance of setting goals before auditioning for a vocal competition show.

“You have to think about the big picture — what you really want to do with your career and how responsible you are for it,” she said. “The first few steps are about acquiring the tools you will need along the way. It is wonderful to be born with talent, but you really need to learn your instrument, and mine being voice — I consider singers to be vocal musicians — that is what they should consider first: their musicianship.”

That is why Lee is especially proud of her grandson Christian Henegan Comeau, who auditioned for La Voix. “He didn’t go through, but I applaud him and others for finding their way in the business.”

Lee added: “When I came up, I dabbled in every style of music — from pop to Broadway — and years later I found myself in the jazz world, and comfortably so. It took me steps to get here. I think that is also part of the curve in these types of shows. It’s all about the steps you take to further your career.”

Season 3 quarter-finalist Shaharah Sinclair agrees.

“My advice is to have your own personal goal you wish to achieve as a contestant on La Voix, and not focus all of your expectations on La Voix. After all, it’s a TV show,” said the Montreal singer, who goes by her first name professionally.

Season 3 quarter-finalist Shaharah says contestants should come up with their own goals “and not focus all of your expectations on La Voix. After all, itâs a TV show.”Andreas Gursky

“My goal was to familiarize myself with the French market. While I have been a big part of the English (music) community, I have never quite been part of the French music scene in Quebec. So that was one of my goals, and I was able to walk off the La Voix stage feeling accomplished.”

Nineteen-year-old Marino — who is studying journalism at Concordia (“my backup plan in case this music thing doesn’t work out”) — says he “grew up so much as an artist on the show. I have been singing since I was a kid, but I learned more in that year than ever before. You really do get to spend a lot of time with the coaches. That’s why I really did the show: to get comfortable with this kind of pressure and being in the public eye.”

“Relax and enjoy every minute,” she said, “because this is one of those things you are going to look back on in 30 years and be happy you did. Relax, make friends, be nice to the production team because they work so incredibly hard to make it easier for you. Accept the long days of shooting, and enjoy the special moments that pop up.”

Five memorable moments from La Voix

2. Crooner David Marino battled laryngitis on the day of the Season 5 finals. Following his performance of Amour ou songe, he got a loud standing ovation. Marino performs at the Gesù with a 17-piece big band on Saturday, April 14.

3. Jazz singer Shy Shy Schullie (a.k.a. Alexandra Schuller) sang Sam Cooke’s 1957 hit I’ll Come Running Back to You in her Season 4 blind audition. She made it to the quarter-finals, and has co-headlined concerts at the Casino de Montréal this winter with Marino. In fact, her musical director John Gilbert is also Marino’s vocal coach. She performs at Le 4e Mur on Thursday, Feb. 15.

4. Season 5 quarter-finalist Hanorah signed with Dare to Care Records after La Voix guest mentors Les Sœurs Boulay showed footage of her duet with Rebecca Noelle (the eventual Season 5 runner-up) on Macy Gray’s I Try to the label president. Hanorah performs at Casa del Popolo on Monday, Feb. 26.

5. Montreal soul singer Sylvie DesGroseilliers got her start with the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, then made a name for herself as an in-demand backup singer on such TV shows as Belle et Bum. In a bid to relaunch her career at the age of 50, a visibly emotional DesGroseilliers blew away all four Season 3 judges during her blind audition with an a cappella version of Amazing Grace. Her audition sparked some controversy, since she was a veteran entertainer. While DesGroseilliers made a big impression, she was eliminated before the quarter-finals. Her upcoming concert dates include a show at Le Balcon on Saturday, March 17.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.